Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Sensational 7 Q & A with Anna Jarzab!

Have you ever wanted to know what it would be like to hang out with your favorite author(s)? In an attempt to get a better understanding of authors, my Sensational Seven Q & A takes a closer or more personal look at these authors to give you a glimpse of the personalities behind the writing of your favorite books.

“Talent alone cannot make a writer. There must be a man behind the book; a personality which, by birth and quality, is pledged to the doctrines there set forth, and which exists to see and state things so, and not otherwise.” By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anna Jarzab grew up entirely in the suburbs, first outside of Chicago and then in San Francisco's East Bay area, where All Unquiet Things is set. She graduated from Santa Clara University, earned her Master's degree from the University of Chicago, and currently lives in New York City. All Unquiet Things is in stores today!

If you were given a chance to travel back in time, what year or place would you go / Why?I don't know that I would go back in time, because messing with the space/time continuum seems like bad mojo to me, but I do often wish, as I'm walking around the streets of New York, that I could go back in time to the days of Edith Wharton and/or the 60s and 70s, just to see what it's like. I'd have to be invisible though. I'd just want to observe, not take part, and I wouldn't want to cause a stir with my contemporary clothing.

Please share with us about your favorite book and fictional crush to date?Hm, favorite book. I have lots of favorites, books I reread every year, but I guess if I have to choose JUST ONE I'd choose The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford (they count as one because they always package them together in one volume!). Nancy Mitford is hilariously funny, and her books have that old English noblesse oblige charm that I love. Her characters are amazingly well-drawn and interesting, and unique, insofar as anything is unique.

As for my fictional crush, I guess maybe I would say Jason from Hey, Nostradamus!, if I'm in the mood to want to save a tortured soul, or Robbie, from Atonement, if I'm in the mood to believe that there are good men in the world.

If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be / Why?Hm, I don't know. I'm very literal-minded, so the answer that jumps into my head is, "I like who I am! I wouldn't want to be anyone else because I'd have to give up the good things in my life." Which is not the answer you're looking for. Hm. Maybe Elizabeth Bennet?

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you / Why?Yikes, please don't make my life into a movie, Hollywood! Again with the literal-mindedness. But maybe Amanda Seyfried? I like her a lot. She doesn't look like me, but I think she's very talented.

If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be – please explain?This question stumped me for a long time! So much pressure to come up with something exactly right. I'm torn between Loud and Well Hydrated because I am loud (my mother calls me "Decibella", which is really quite clever) and I drink a lot of water, and Really Excited to Be Here!, which is something I stole from a friend and made my own. It's a quasi-ironic title, because I can be really upbeat and friendly and excited a lot of the time, but I am, at heart, a cold, hard cynic.

How would you describe yourself/life in seven words?Polish girl has writery ambitions, makes good.

Bonus

**Is there any additional info you would like to share with your readers about what’s next for you and your books?**All Unquiet Things comes out January 12th! And if you go to my site, there's a bunch of hidden content already up there and more to come. That's the kind of stuff I think is fun, and I'm not sure many people know it's there, but it is!

Thanks Anna for stopping by!

For more information about Anna Jarzab and her books, please visit her websitehere.

I Would Have To Agree With You Anna About Not Going Back In Time. I Mean There Are Things I Wish I Could Change But I Would Not Be Willing To Risk What I Have Now To Do It. For All I Know Changing Things Could Just Make Things A Lot Worse. Loved The Interview And I Think Amanda Seyfried (I Loved her In Mamma Mia!)Is A Great Choice If Your Book Got Made Into A Movie.

I'm just a girl with a crazy book obsession.
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